Do you think fighters watch enough tape?

[djacobox372]

I don't think anybody is watching "tape" in 2021

 

[Iron Nick]

i think if you want to be great you need to study. i don't care how good your coaches are, the more brains and eyes are on the footage the more perspective you gain.

but you need to be unbiased and brutally honest about the skills of both you and your opponent and i think this is where it becomes difficult for a lot fighters to do. because so many fighters are living on delusions of grandeur not many will be able to see what they need to see in the footage to actually reach the level they think they are destined for.

No. Id be a goodamn student of all fighting styles which i kinda am and i dont even get paid to do it. But if it was my JOB(sorry, Dana says "opportunity") id be studying as much as I could to become a better student of the game and YES id watch other fighters fights, especially guys I fight. Like in bjj(im a brown belt) the hardest guys to go against whether they are white belts or black belts, are guys who are unknowns. Dont know their style. Strengths. Tendencies. Etc. Much of the reason street fights are so unpredicatable(beyond weapons or multiple opponents).You never really know how much the other guy knows, how strong/tough/fast he is, and you cant judge him by his appearance.

Both responses nailed it imo.
What Pancake Sprawl brought up is also not so often talked about imo... being truly self-criticial and honest about one's own abilities is extremely valuable and imo can make a gargantuan difference between how good fighters are.

I know it probably sounds kinda pretentious, but not studying tape/opponents is in my opinion just stupid. (maybe unless you have some genius coach who does it for you and explains everything perfectly to you).
I think most somewhat modern all time greats all did it and/or still do it and i think it'll increase even moreso in the future.

What always comes to my mind, is GSP working with a scientist or so in preparation for the Penn fight and by slowing everything down to frame-by-frame basically, they found out that - at the time - Penn had the fastest reaction time/reactions out of any fighter in the UFC.

But to simplify my whole argument: if you've got the chance to watch every/almost every fight of your opponent and study him to a point where you could write a thesis on him, why the hell wouldn't you do it?
I feel like HunterAcosta on this one, i'd study all that stuff like crazy, there's so much to learn in MMA, it's ridiculous; not only do you have three "arts" themselves in striking, wrestling and submission grappling (or brazilian jiu-jitsu) but there's also a science on how these work together and against each other.

 

[TriangleMonkey]

It can go both ways, depends on the individual and/or the coaches.

Some guys that study tape, will build their opponent more than they need to in studying them and should just focus on the things they are good at.

 

[HunterAcosta]

Both responses nailed it imo.
What Pancake Sprawl brought up is also not so often talked about imo... being truly self-criticial and honest about one's own abilities is extremely valuable and imo can make a gargantuan difference between how good fighters are.

I know it probably sounds kinda pretentious, but not studying tape/opponents is in my opinion just stupid. (maybe unless you have some genius coach who does it for you and explains everything perfectly to you).
I think most somewhat modern all time greats all did it and/or still do it and i think it'll increase even moreso in the future.

What always comes to my mind, is GSP working with a scientist or so in preparation for the Penn fight and by slowing everything down to frame-by-frame basically, they found out that - at the time - Penn had the fastest reaction time/reactions out of any fighter in the UFC.

But to simplify my whole argument: if you've got the chance to watch every/almost every fight of your opponent and study him to a point where you could write a thesis on him, why the hell wouldn't you do it?
I feel like HunterAcosta on this one, i'd study all that stuff like crazy, there's so much to learn in MMA, it's ridiculous; not only do you have three "arts" themselves in striking, wrestling and submission grappling (or brazilian jiu-jitsu) but there's also a science on how these work together and against each other.

100

 

[GrantB13]

It depends on the psychology of the fighter really. They might build the fighter up to be some kind of monster they can't beat, or they might get too tuned into what they think the opponent is going to do and then do something different.

A lot of fighters like to focus on improving their skills in general and not focusing too much on the specific opponent and trust their coaches to work the things they think they need to work to be prepared for the fight.

As time goes on I'm becoming more and more interested in what would happen if fighters got as good as they can get without having a long camp for one opponent. That way they can truly fight anyone anytime without worrying about "I was training for a wrestler so I wasn't prepared for a striker". Expect anything from everyone. But I don't train so maybe there's a reason they don't do that

 

[Turdbucket]

99% of the fighters watch too much tape and suck at it. They have pros doing it for them giving them the info but still feel.. I might also be Albert Einstein at this!

 

[SherdogFan23]

It depends on the psychology of the fighter really. They might build the fighter up to be some kind of monster they can't beat, or they might get too tuned into what they think the opponent is going to do and then do something different.

A lot of fighters like to focus on improving their skills in general and not focusing too much on the specific opponent and trust their coaches to work the things they think they need to work to be prepared for the fight.

1000% THIS ^^^^^

Psychology is huge when you going up against someone that has the skill set to prey on your weakness. If you just lost two fights in a row and your next opponent is highly qualified in the same skill that just caused your last two losses, watching the video could cause a mental weakness that makes you lose the fight before you ever step in the cage. But if you are on a roll and have won several fights then watching the video may be fantastic for knowing what you will see before you see it. It all depends on the situation and that is why it is important to have excellent coaches that know how to physically train and mentally prepare you based on your current situation.

 

[xHeadx]

The smart ones should along with their camps. Mental game is a huge part though. For me, it's part of training. Another piece of the puzzle.

I played sports for most of my youth & young adulthood. Played football from pee-wee though college (D-III), basketball, baseball, track & even played soccer senior year for the fuck of it. Fortunately to never experience a losing season as a player.

One common demonitor of those winners was film. In high school & college I would get a weekly scouting report of the other team & their tendencies. We watched shit loads of film. The best players watched more film. It's amazing what you pick up. A keen eye catches that shit.

I'm not looking to figure out your specific game plan. I expect your plan to be tweaked, most of the time. I'm looking for tells to anticipate your next move. I'm looking looking at your stats for what you like, your preferences. I'm checking your footwork & movements. We all have them. Some are better at masking than others.